World Pneumonia Day observed with the theme Every Breath Counts: Stop Pneumonia Now

Who: World Pneumonia DayWhere: Across the WorldWhat: ObservedWhen: 12 November 2015Why: To raise awareness about the disease

12 November: World Pneumonia Day

World Pneumonia Day was observed on 12 November 2015 across the world with the theme Every Breath Counts: Stop Pneumonia Now.

To mark the occasion, special programmes were held to raise awareness of pneumonia, promote prevention and treatment and generate action to fight the illness.

Further, a special Pneumonia Innovations Summit was organized by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in New York to discuss the strategies to deal with it.

The theme for 2015 conveys the urgency to stop pneumonia from claiming lives globally.

At present, it is the biggest infectious killer of children under 5 accounting for 16 percent of deaths.

Globally, around 9 lakh children will die from the disease in 2015 of which India will account for maximum deaths pegged at 178000.

About World Pneumonia Day

• Pneumonia is an infection affecting one or both lungs. The infection inflames the lungs’ air sacs filling it with fluid or pus. This leads to symptoms like cough and phlegm, fever, chills, vomiting and breathing difficulty.
• To deal with the illness, World Pneumonia Day was established in November 2009 which tries to raise awareness about it, besides promoting interventions.
• The Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia provides leadership for World Pneumonia Day and is comprised of over 140 NGOs, academic institutions, government agencies and foundations.
• The day in 2014 was observed with the theme-Universal access to pneumonia prevention and care.